Chemistry
by solarpowered
Summary: A revelation regarding a situation of political unrest between Suna and an apparent enemy propels the Kazekage into a whole new life. Gaara isn't aware just how much his life is going to change. T for now, M later. LeeGaaLee
1. Prologue

Summary: Gaara had never thought much of his father, in all honesty. All he did know was that he'd left rather a mess to clean up after: senseless, outdated laws, a council of warmongers, and a number of economical and social problems. But after years of work, twenty-year-old Gaara is quite pleased with the progress made. Unfortunately for him, things aren't quite as he imagined.

Comment: Okay, so the summary doesn't explain a single thing about the yaoi element, but I promise, you will see. I'm also aware that I said the oneshot I wrote a while back would pose as a prologue for a multi-chapter fic, but I changed my mind after I wrote approximately half of the first chapter and then got this idea. I'm not sure entirely how well it's going to be written, but I'll try and make it as entertaining as possible. This takes place when Gaara is, as mentioned, twenty, and Naruto is the same age and Hokage. Lee is twenty-one. This will (unavoidably) have some original characters in it, but not the kind that puke rainbows, don't worry- they'll most likely just be plot devices, nothing more.

The attack happened shortly before the sun began to rise over Sunagakure. Gaara was sat at his desk, Kazekage robe slung over the back of the chair, when his senses prickled. He didn't turn his head, already expecting the poison-laden kunai aimed through the open window and at his neck to hit a wall of sand that predictably lashed out to grab it. His ANBU were already on alert; dark flashes of shadow leapt from rooftop to rooftop, including one that leapt through the open window to check on his Kazekage.

"Kazekage-sama, are you harmed?" He asked strongly.

"No," Gaara replied, standing, "and I'm getting sick of this. Only kill the ones you have to - I want at least one interrogated this time. Go."

The guardian saluted and then leaped out of the circular window to follow his team mates in a dark flash. The redhead bent down to pick up the kunai that the sand had deflected with some care, holding it at the loop between a thumb and forefinger. Then his eyes narrowed into slits.

This kunai… it looked different to the ones issued in Suna and the ones he'd been attacked with before when on missions. Gaara blinked at it and shook his head, placing it on the table for inspection later. His people were in trouble.

He slowly began to disintegrate into sand and he flew out of the window in graceful waves, following the direction of the familiar chakra patterns, and the not-so-familiar ones. He found them some distance away from the wall; obviously his ANBU were doing the safe thing of getting the attackers away from the village. He stayed hidden for a while whilst Sand and foreign shinobi battled, until the redhead materialised some feet away behind a rocky formation, keeping his presence expertly masked. After a moment, he placed two fingers on his left eye and began the third eye jutsu.

With his eyes closed, he kept the eye positioned a few metres above the battling ninjas, and tried to decipher their origin from the symbol on their forehead protectors. The first thing that struck the redhead was not the symbols etched into their forehead protectors, but the fact that they were all wearing gas masks. Gaara took in this information with a slightly furrowed brow, stored it away in his brain and continued with his observation. The eyeball soon locked onto a thin strip of metal on one of the ninja's arms, from which Gaara was just able to decipher a strange mark.

It looked rather like a blunted shuriken, with a circle in the middle and three four-pointed, top heavy quadrilaterals spiralling from it. It was certainly not one Gaara had ever seen before, which only informed him that these nin were not exactly native to Wind's bordering countries- he had memorized every symbol known to Suna years ago.

The third eye disintegrated just in time as one of the enemy nin whipped through an elaborate sequence of hand seals, and suddenly a strange blast of an invisible but deadly gas left two of Gaara's ANBU screaming in agony. He didn't get a good enough chance to see what had happened to them, but he could only imagine that it wasn't pretty.

The battle continued for a while longer until the enemy began pulling them deeper into the desert. They were trying to make it harder for reinforcements to reach them- a smart move from their standpoint; Sand's ANBU had the home advantage, they knew the terrain better and they were not far from home. From where Gaara was watching, he could tell that their numbers were falling fast, but at this rate it would take the reinforcements too long to locate and catch up with them.

In a flurry of sand he appeared before the attackers, between them and his ANBU, with his arms folded and staring hard at them. Now that he had a closer view, he could see that Sand had lowered the enemy's numbers too, if not by the same amount, then probably more. The same nin who had released the devastating blow before ran at him, something that most shinobi, even those from countries quite far away, would've have second thoughts about doing; Gaara of the Desert's reputation preceded him. They must be very foreign.

Needless to say, the battle didn't last very long after Gaara stepped in. He got their numbers down, single-handedly, until two of the gas-masked shinobi grabbed one of their comrades, who was wounded in the chest, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Kazekage looked around the battlefield at the wounded, dead and the surviving, and, after a quick visual sweep of the area, ordered the better-off soldiers to carry any wounded soldiers, enemy or allied, and to leave the dead for now.

So, just a short prologue. If people like this I'll carry it on (because I am quite enjoying it~) but if you think its craptacular I'll leave it. Plus, I'd really appreciate a beta for this one because my usual beta isn't a huuuuge manga fan, much less a Naruto one, and I really need someone who's knowledgeable on the manga and can point out errors I've made with ranks, names and other stuff, as well as having good language skills.

C&C is appreciated~


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Chemistry

Rating: T for now

Genre: Romance, action, humour, angst and slight fluff

Pairing: LeeGaaraLee

Chapter: 1/?

Status: In progress

Warnings: Slight spoilers, violence. Not beta-read.

Summary: Gaara had never thought much of his father, in all honesty. All he did know was that he had left rather a mess to clean up after: senseless, outdated laws, a council of warmongers and a number of economical and social problems. But after years of work, twenty-year-old Gaara is quite pleased with the progress made. Unfortunately for him, things aren't quite as he imagined.

Comments: I hope you don't find part this too boring, but I'm really just trying to set the foundations for the plot here. I really don't want to go straight into the romance stuff because this story is really one that could be a success or it could end up an awful disaster, so you'll have to bear with me on that. ~I also need to point out a couple of small details (if you don't remember, it might be worth refreshing your memory) the daimyo who was in power in Part I is replaced by another in Part II, even though in the manga he's not dead. However, I've killed him off for the sake of the plot (I didn't think it was too bad cuz this takes place like four or five years since Shippuden anyway). Also, Gaara has had Shukaku sealed inside of him again.

Gaara unbuckled his gourd and dumped it near the desk in his bedroom with more lethargy than he usually would, feeling more tired than he ever had. He had just finished taking his wounded troops to the hospital and had helped clear the bodies from the desert. This was the third night in a row he had been attacked while at his desk, and he was quite sure it wouldn't be the last. His eyes didn't show it, at least not to those who knew him, but he was really very tired now. He hadn't had too great a chakra expenditure, but he was becoming increasingly concerned about who the attackers were, what they wanted with Suna, and why they were apparently trying to assassinate him.

Of course it wasn't often Gaara had to deal with multiple assassination attempts, much less in the safety of his own village, but it wasn't the first time it had happened, and he had had threats to his life on the battlefield, too. But there was just something about this one that the redhead didn't like; he could feel something nipping at the top of his spine, like he was overlooking something really obvious.

He rubbed his eyes roughly and blinked a few times. He must be more tired than usual. He hung his long black coat over the back of the sand-coloured armchair in the corner and made his way to the connecting bathroom. He stripped, dumped the clothes in the laundry basket and turned on the shower to wash the desert from him. Half-closing his eyes, he stared up at the showerhead a bit blearily, running his hands through his hair with a sigh as the warm drops hit his skin.

Temari was probably making her way over; she had been organizing for the wounded enemies to be treated and then put in the care of the interrogations unit, so Gaara was waiting to see if any of their guests had survived the battle. Only his siblings would be able to tell that he was tired, so he set about removing any trace of it from his eyes- he had too much work to do.

He didn't spend longer than a few short minutes in the shower and he stepped out to change into his Kazekage robe minus the hat, slinging the gourd over one shoulder and heading toward the kitchen for something to eat. Temari arrived a little later than predicted, when the sun was just beginning to rise over the desert.

Gaara let her in with a quiet greeting and, after one look at her face, offered her a cup of tea.

"I think I'm going to need something stronger," she replied, all but slumping into a chair at Gaara's kitchen table.

"What's the situation?" Gaara asked, preparing a drink for her anyway.

Temari sat up slightly and rubbed her head, feeling the beginnings of a headache prying at the front of her skull- she'd only come out of hospital about five days ago from a rather nasty head injury she'd sustained in Wave Country. "One of the men and the kunoichi we captured have died of their injuries," she answered, "the last one is stable. We're keeping an eye on him. As soon as he's strong enough, we're going to put him under interrogation. The others are dead and it looks like a few got away."

"And ours?" Gaara asked with slight trepidation.

"Four dead, two seriously injured and the rest should be okay soon. But man, I've never seen burns like that before in my life," Temari replied with a regretful shake of her head.

Gaara was silent for a moment, with only the tapping of the teaspoon against the cup making a sound. "Any clues as to where they're from?" Gaara asked, placing the tea in front of his sister, who took it with a short thanks.

"I've never seen that symbol before," she answered. "Plus, those gas masks give me the creeps. I'll get one of the elders to have a look at it and see what they know in the morning. But if you ask me, I smell a rat."

"So its not just me," Gaara replied, sitting down opposite her.

"Do you have any idea what might be going on?" She asked hopefully.

"No idea," the redhead replied, "we probably won't know a thing until we get some answers."

Temari sighed and rested her head down on her arms.

"You should go home and get some sleep," Gaara said. It wasn't a suggestion. "…Where's Kankuro?"

Temari snorted. "So should you, evidently. He left for his mission this morning, remember? The one -you- sent him on."

Gaara blinked. Of course. "The one in Konoha, I remember," he said.

Temari sat up and shook her head to take a sip of tea. They spoke for a few more minutes until the Kazekage decided that he needed his sister to be rested for tomorrow and all but kicked her out of his house.

Gaara managed to get about an hour's sleep that morning, which was just enough for a bred insomniac like him for about another month. Two, perhaps. He was at his office by eight and was greeted by the poison drenched kunai he had dropped on his desk the night before. Interestingly, it seemed to have turned a bright, crusty, glowing orange overnight and had built a little nest for itself in the hardened sand of his workspace. He called for his aide.

"Michi, have this strange kunai taken to the investigations unit… or a lab. Don't touch it though. Don't let them touch it either." He ordered, picking up the mail that had been placed in a cubby above the large bureau by the door.

"Sir," he said, and left to find someone with lead-based gloves.

Gaara sorted through the scrolls and envelopes, identifying seals and handwriting from memory until he came across one with Naruto's personal mark. He placed all the others back in the cubby with disinterest and broke the seal, immediately expecting bad news about his brother.

_Dear Gaara,_

_How are you buddy? Thanks for sending your brother to help us out, we could really use him and his puppets for this mission. Those bandits near the border are really starting to irritate me now. I'm fine, by the way, just that and I'm a bit pissed off at not being allowed on as many missions as I used to. But, I'm getting used to the job. It's just the paperwork… how do you and Granny Tsunade get through all of this junk? _

By getting a few hours sleep over a six month period, Gaara thought. Why the hell was Naruto writing just to say thank you? Sand already owed Leaf a huge debt.

_Well, I just wanted to write 'cuz we haven't spoken in too long, and to let you know that we owe you for this! See ya!_

_Naruto_

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the paper and dumped the scroll into a nearby drawer, not even thinking about writing the other man back. A few minutes later, Michi and a woman from one of Suna's labs, dressed all in white, heavy looking clothes, complete with goggles and a mask, came to pick the kunai up with a pair of pliers and place it in a small chest. Then she gave a worried look to the rather large hole in Gaara's desk.

"Um, Kazekage-sama, I think you should get a new desk," she said, her voice muffled by the mask she was wearing, "and maybe work from home for a few days…"

"Hm? Why?" Gaara asked disinterestedly from his seated position, scanning through the other mundane documents that had been delivered.

"Well, this is just from a first glance, but I think that orange substance is poisonous… or radioactive," she said anxiously.

"Oh, that's okay," he said, standing and beginning to clear everything off of his desk. "Stand back."

Michi and the young scientist stood close to the far wall as Gaara crushed his sandstone desk into a ball and continued to crush and shape it until it was in its loose form. He then directed it towards the open window, to the outskirts of the village and closed his eyes as he deposited the apparently dangerous sand about a mile away from Suna.

Once he was happy with his work, he lifted his hand swiftly, and soon there was a similar amount of sand in his office, into which he sculpted a brand new sandstone desk. It was probably a bit more grainy than his old one, but it would do. "Is that all?" He asked, beginning to load his things back onto his desk.

Michi and the young woman looked at Gaara with wide eyes, and then the scientist nodded and scampered off down the corridor, clutching the little chest in mild terror.

"Uh- Kazekage-sama, may I ask you something?" Michi asked, looking at Gaara with his dark eyes.

Gaara glanced at him in a wordless 'yes'.

"Where… where did that kunai come from? It doesn't look like one I've ever seen before," He asked. Michi was quite a tall man and five years older than his Kazekage, with choppy brown locks and dark eyes, as well as the rather strong bone structure and tanned skin that a lot of Suna's citizens seemed to sport. He had seen a fair amount of action, but he still had a kind of innocence about him that had usually disappeared in most shinobi by the time they were eighteen.

Gaara considered the question and then agreed with him. "I'm not sure, we're looking into it," he replied enigmatically, not sure about how much information he was willing to share at this point.

The rest of his morning was spent as it usually was, with Gaara filling in forms and reading over his mission reports like the robot he had programmed himself to be. He vaguely noted a difference in the security pattern surrounding his office. He didn't pay much attention to it; they weren't ANBU for nothing. At midday, Temari appeared in his office with the information she said she was going find, but from the look on her face, Gaara didn't think it was good news.

"We need to call an emergency meeting of the council. Now." She said strongly.

"That bad?" The redhead asked.

"Yes."

Gaara sat down in his usual chair with his councillors around him at the table, his elbows resting on the dark wood and resting his chin on his folded hands. Temari was sat to his side and was glaring hard at the numerous elders and representatives who were chattering and flipping through documents.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," she said in a voice that didn't take any bullshit. Every head at the table turned to look at her, including Gaara. "I've called this meeting because of some rather disturbing information I have gathered in relation to the recent attacks on the Kazekage. After having spoken with Ebizou-jiisama and several other elders, it would seem that there is something of a traitor amongst us, or perhaps, there was at some point in the past," she added.

Two aides placed a couple of gas masks, weaponry, and the forehead protectors of some of their guests on the table before the blonde, who thanked them quietly. Several of the older council members flinched at the sight of them, which Gaara noted. "The people who attacked us are not local, nor are they from any village that Suna has any knowledge of," Temari said and held up one of rubbery gas masks, which, in contrast to some of the other equipment, had the forehead protector screwed into the space above the large goggles. She tapped the symbol with her index finger. "This is the symbol for radiation," she said, "but I've never heard of a radioactive country or anything like it. So why would we be attacked by a country I, nor the Kazekage or likely many of you have even heard of?" She asked rhetorically, her eyes hard. "If my gut feeling is correct, I think that somebody here has been keeping something from us."

One of the councillors, a sixty-year-old, white-haired, retired kunoichi raised her hand slightly. "Temari-san, if I may?" She said, blinking her slightly sagged eyes at the young woman. She was silent for a moment, and then she spoke. "Kazekage-sama, are you aware of the agreements the Fourth had with regards to energy?" She asked apprehensively.

"Some, but not all of them. He was a very secretive man, as you know… but we've secured our energy resources. We know exactly where it's coming from," Gaara replied, "why?"

"This reminds me of a conversation I overheard, many years ago."

"Please tell us what you know, Masako-san," Temari said, listening intently.

"Well, about three years before the fourth Kazekage died, I remember overhearing a conversation he had- it was a meeting of some kind with officials from a country I don't remember the name of," she began, "but they were talking about power. I remember being confused because Suna has huge reserves of oil, and of course the windmills around the coast help power us also. But the Fourth was talking about more power- not to support us, he was talking about weaponry of some kind, nuclear weaponry."

There was a heavy silence around the meeting room.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure what the outcome was, I stopped listening and left straight away. I haven't spoken about it since, but that symbol is the same one I saw on the foreign nin who must've visited us all those years ago. I saw them again when they were leaving."

Both Temari and Gaara were silent for a while, wondering what this could mean for their village. "Is this all you know?" Temari asked. "Are you sure that this is the symbol you saw?"

"Yes. I'm quite sure that this is the symbol I saw… I remember because I've seen many different symbols in my time, but that was the first and only time I saw that one," Masako replied, "…until now, of course."

Gaara sighed. "I want all the information on the nuclear arms trade we can find. If the Fourth made a deal with this country then there must be some kind of paper trail. Either he took everything he knew about it to his grave, or someone has been keeping it under wraps so nobody knows about it, not even me. If this is the case, it looks like the Kage of this village has not received their end of the bargain, and thinks they've been cheated."

"I suppose that's feasible, but surely they know the Fourth is dead?" One of the councillors replied.

"Maybe they don't, maybe they just haven't had the news? Perhaps that's what the traitor wants," suggested another, "someone might've been stopping the news getting to them, an insider."

"…Somebody in Suna wants Gaara dead?" Temari said, letting her worry spill over into her voice for a moment.

"It's possible. We had to do a lot of work to remove the Fourth's sympathizers from this council, remember?"

"Plus, there's surely a lot of competition for the Kazekage's position. There always has been, as far as I can recall," said one of the older councillors.

"Do you think the Daimyo could have anything to do with this?" Temari asked.

"It's very unlikely. He knows full well that the Fourth is dead and that we've changed this council a lot since. We know nothing of a deal for nuclear power or weaponry."

"The former daimyo is dead anyway. The Second has no reason to attack Gaara or let such a thing happen," said one of the councillors.

"I think that this really requires a face-to-face talk with him, or maybe even an investigation into the former's legislature and to see if it has any remaining effect over the current one," said one of the elders.

There was a thoughtful silence.

"But even so, isn't that a little harsh just for some soured deal?" Asked a slightly younger councillor.

Temari thought for a moment. "That depends on the nature of the agreement. If we're talking about nuclear weaponry, there are all sorts of implications that can have." She said. "But you're right. It does throw into question the morals - and common sense - of this country's government to just all-out attack our leader like that. Do they _want_ war or something?"

Gaara considered this. "I do not want to go to war over a misunderstanding or because of my idiot of a father. Enough blood has been spilled over that man, and we will get to the bottom of this. Meeting is adjourned," he said in his usual monotonous, unemotional voice, and stood to leave.

A fortnight passed without Gaara or anybody else coming under fire. Obviously the assassins had left, leaving both their dead and wounded behind, perhaps assuming that any survivors had been killed. But their last survivor had woken and was fairly healthy again, and had been under interrogation for about a day now. So the redhead was on his way to visit them and to have a look at the things the investigations unit had seized.

"Kazekage-sama!" Said a voice some distance in front of him as he made his way up the corridor. Gaara could just see Ryousuke poking his head around the door. He stepped out to greet his Kazekage formerly. "What brings you here?" He asked politely. Watanabe Ryousuke was a tall, lean man, who had a special eye for detail. He was also very pale, and was among the small group of Suna's people who burnt very badly under the sun. Unfortunately for a Suna shinobi like him, this meant it was quite difficult for him to spend long hours in the desert on missions, which limited him to certain fields. Luckily, he had found quite a comfortable spot for himself in the field of interrogation.

"I just came to see how things were going… and to have a look at some of the evidence." Gaara answered, walking into the surveillance room that the other man had just stepped out of. On the far wall was an array of electrical appliances, and four small screens displayed their captive from four angles, bound to a chair and surrounded by complex, scrawled symbols on the floor, with two nin on each side holding a hand seal and with their eyes closed- genjutsu.

"Is he complying?" Gaara asked, not taking his eyes off of the enemy shinobi.

Ryousuke pushed his glasses up his defined nose and shook his head. "I'm afraid its proving to be quite a struggle," he answered.

"When something comes through, you will inform me immediately. Do not tell anybody else of the information you discover. I will tell your superiors," Gaara said, only looking at him as he finished speaking.

Ryousuke swallowed. "Understood," he replied.

"Good. Now, where can I find the seized items?" Gaara asked.

"They'll be in the evidence room. I-uh, I would show you myself, sir, but I'm not allowed to leave my post."

"It's fine, I know where it is," Gaara said, and turned to leave. He made his way down the hall and ignored the guard, who saluted as he approached. The broad man didn't say a word and just continued with his job as Gaara pulled a set of keys from his pocket. He took a moment to find the right one and then he unlocked the door slowly, stepping into the medium sized chamber that housed a number of curious objects.

Gaara's sea coloured eyes roved around the strange little museum of sorts with caution until he came across a collection labelled with radioactive symbols and bright warning ink. Gaara didn't touch it, but he was still somewhat interested in the odd equipment they had captured. The gas masks were certainly unusual, even if it wasn't the first time Gaara had seen them used, but the kunai were strangely shaped. The one the Kazekage had had removed from his office was in the same design as the four that were rested on the metal shelf, but the scientist must have taken it somewhere else if she thought it was a threat. Instead of the single point, these kunai had three, though the shuriken were basically the same.

The redhead was disturbed by somebody suddenly swinging the door open.

"Gaara!" Temari yelled. "What the hell?"

Gaara didn't see what Hell had to do with it. "I was looking at the kunai," he replied flatly, as if there was nothing wrong with snooping around the evidence locker to look at pointed, deadly and apparently radioactive things, Kazekage or no.

"For Christ's sake, its dangerous!" She said, practically grabbing her little brother by the shoulder and then ushering him out of the room with a slight glare to the guard. The heavy door slammed behind them and Gaara locked it again.

"How is it dangerous?" Gaara asked, pulling himself away from his sister. His eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you know?"

Temari rolled her eyes and began walking faster toward the exit. "Wait until we get to yours," she said, "I'll explain everything."

They hopped along the rooftops of Sunagakure, shadowed by ANBU in the same way Gaara had been followed to the Interrogation Compound of course, though tighter than usual. Temari was headed towards his residence, so she must've had something very important to say to him.

Temari kicked her sandals off and left them by the door, slid her large fan off her back and rested it against the slightly tatty brown sofa Gaara had in his main room. Gaara did the same and dumped his gourd down next to it, following his sister to the kitchen table. "So what is it you were going to tell me?" He asked as soon as the blonde sat down.

Temari sighed, more than used to her brother's bad manners. "The man we put under interrogation today is high-level. He said he had been sent to assassinate the Kazekage as part of an elite three cell squad. His name is Ken, he's 26, and he's from a distant country, though he hasn't said what its called yet. He's said a number of other things, but because he's from such a long distance away he speaks with a different dialect, so he's a bit hard to understand sometimes."

"I see," Gaara replied, "did he say why he was sent?"

"He might've done, we're having an interpreter try to translate what he's saying. The thing is, we can't put him under too much physical strain because he's still recovering, and if he dies then that's our best lead out the window. We still haven't had any luck with that paper trail you ordered." Temari paused. "God, he must've really not wanted anyone to know about this…" She whispered, almost to herself.

They were quiet for a couple of minutes, mulling over the facts they had in front of them.

Gaara felt a strange sort of familiarity about this whole situation. The former daimyo had reduced the funds of Suna, so the Fourth placed Shukaku inside of him like a weapon in order to lord the power over him, or to some such extent. This reeked of the same sort of plan… but Gaara was nine by then. He snorted. This must've been just before he decided to invade Konoha with Orochimaru and then just let the deal dissipate.

The hatred he felt toward his father went up a notch.

Finally, Gaara spoke. "When is Kankurou due home?"

"Sometime tonight. Why?"

"I just think we could use his help with this."

"Why? Kankurou sucks at documents and stuff like that. He can't even look at a book without getting distracted."

The redhead was silent. To be honest, he had just missed his brother a little. Plus, he was curious about what kind of Hokage Naruto was and about any news from Leaf. "I don't know," he replied.

A tiny smirk pulled at his sister's mouth, as though she knew something Gaara didn't.

Gaara ignored her. "Anyway, why is looking around the evidence room apparently dangerous now?" He asked, changing the subject- something he had learnt a few years ago and found endlessly helpful.

"We just need to keep a closer eye on you," Temari answered. "You're the one they want, after all."

Gaara thought about this. "Maybe I should-"

"What?" The blonde snapped, her eyes narrowing into slits.

Gaara wasn't intimidated, but he thought it best she didn't know about his plan. "Nothing, don't worry."

Temari gave him a suspicious look and glared at him a moment longer. "Fine," she replied. "Anyway, I have work to do. Try and work from home today, just to be on the safe side."

Gaara didn't say goodbye; he just got up and walked into his living room to start working on his strategy.

Of course, the elite three cell squad the man had been a part of had their numbers down to three combative opponents- maybe even just two if the injured one the other two had grabbed had died. They had presumably returned to their village or an allied one to recuperate, so this left Gaara with quite some time to perfect a strategy, as he had been for the last month since their guest had been put under interrogation. Temari and Kankurou had been giving him strange looks this past week as he had been out on the training grounds more often than usual, so much so that his paperwork was piling up somewhat.

But the only responses Gaara gave their questions were either silence, or he said that he was perfecting a new technique, which in fact, he was, so it wasn't a total lie. But this one was just slightly more… specialised, if an attack that included his sole effort to wipe out a fair number of opponents, stronger and better than he usually did, could be named so. This was also the technique he was planning to use when the next attack struck.

Now, Gaara was well aware that his sister was keeping a close eye on him. He was also aware that the ANBU had changed their security pattern around him, his home and his office, which probably meant that they had a new battle strategy in place if the attackers were to strike again. As well as this, he had no idea when the enemy was going to strike, how they had changed their attack sequence, and what surprises they had in store for him this time.

So the redhead more than had his work cut out for him. Nonetheless he was already devising a plan in his head. He stood up straight to wipe the sweat from his brow and sighed. He had changed from his usual Kazekage robe and had even taken off his long black coat, leaving him in his usual linen vest, pants and sandals.

Gaara was now twenty, and he had grown somewhat since his adolescent years. His hair was longer and touched his shoulders at the sides, though it still spiked roughly over the top of his head. He was broader around the chest and was slightly taller, but he still had that slight puniness about him he had yet to grow out of.

But nonetheless Gaara had become quite attractive. He didn't really get what 'attractive' meant himself; he didn't get it because as far as he knew, it was to do with sex, which he didn't understand and didn't have much of a desire to do so. The only thing he thought it did was make people revert to their ten year old selves and act like complete morons. Just as a small group - or maybe it was a couple, Gaara had ignored them almost entirely so he wasn't too sure - of young female nin had been doing so today. They had been surprised to see their Kazekage suddenly on the training grounds - not that it could've been the first time; he was a Kage and needed to stay strong. They knew this. Nevertheless they had stood huddled together, whispering and giggling. Humans were weird creatures.

Gaara shook his head at the infuriating piece of human behaviour he yet again couldn't decode, and instead swung his arm out to send a huge wave of sand towards the training dummies, flooding the floor around their feet like the tide washing over the shore. His hands flew through several hand seals and then the sand that had encased the legs of the dummies flew up, encasing every one of them in a Desert Coffin. He then concentrated his chakra and curled his outstretched, splayed hands into fists, crushing every one of the dummies.

After a few moments, he allowed his hands to relax, and the sand that had been tightly wrapped around the dolls fell away, leaving all but one of the original twelve in a pile of wood and straw.

Gaara turned his head around to look at his brother's face as the older sibling applauded him slowly.

"Nice attack. Is that what you've been working on?" He asked.

"Yeah," Gaara said, panting lightly. He walked over to sit down on the bench next to where the puppeteer was standing.

"What's it called?"

"Desert Harvest," he replied.

"Cool," Kankurou said quietly, leaning against a nearby post. "So what's your plan for these attackers?"

Gaara's breathing began to even out as he braced his weight against one knee and wiped the sweat from his neck with the small towel he had brought. He eyed the water bottle his brother was carrying with a quick glance. Kankurou handed it to him.

Gaara took it without a word, taking a few swallows and then handing it back to his brother. "I'm not sure yet," he said, unsurprised that his brother had known. Temari knew he was planning something too, no doubt.

"Gaara… I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but maybe you should just let someone else protect you for once," the puppeteer suggested, "if everything is as bad as Temari said it is, then we should be the ones looking after you, not the other way round."

The redhead blinked and looked up at Kankurou's painted face with a stubborn glare. "I'm the Kazekage, Kankurou. I can't just sit back and let my people die for me like this. I made a vow to protect the village, even if it means I could die. That's the reason for my existence."

"I know, but don't you think-"

There was a sudden flicker in the palm trees above them that made the brothers and the three ANBU who had been watching Gaara all day stand to attention. Said ANBU were on the now moving target in a split second, chasing the assassin with admirable speed. Kankurou looked at his brother in slight surprise. "How the fuck did they get here? This part of town is a fortress," Kankurou exclaimed.

"They're elite," Gaara replied, grabbing his nearby coat and gourd before hopping onto a ledge of one of the bordering buildings. Kankurou followed.

The ANBU had been joined by a couple of jounin who had sensed the conflict and were now fighting two of the attackers on Suna's round rooftops. The enemy was outnumbered and they were again trying to move the battle away from the village where they could be joined, no doubt, by their comrades.

Gaara knew this and so he began taking a different direction, hopping over a series of buildings in a different direction. In the distance, Kankurou shouted after him, telling him to stop being so stupid and to get to safety. But Gaara wasn't stupid. This was the reason he was alive. If he didn't do this, then he might as well go back to the way he was at the Chuunin exam- loving himself, killing for himself.

He jumped up onto the ledges of the huge walls of bedrock and hardened sand surrounding Sunagakure, then reached the very top in a few short bounds. He felt his brother's chakra behind him, but he ignored it and began to disintegrate into sand once he reached the top. The grainy waves flew through the air, chakra rich and bending, until he felt the foreign chakra lock onto him a small distance east. Four shinobi caught up with him after a short pursuit across the desert and once he felt there was enough distance between them, he materialised, standing straight, stoic and with his arms crossed over his chest, facing the advancing attackers like a brick wall.

The four shinobi were dressed in the same attire as the ones the previous assassins had been wearing during the last attack; mostly in black, gas masks, face respirators, headphones, goggles, gloves and other equipment that looked like it belonged to scientists.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked darkly, staring hard at the attackers.

He wasn't met with an answer. Obviously they weren't the talking type… Instead, several of the three pointed kunai were sent soaring through the air, only to be caught by Gaara's automatic sand defence. Though the ninjas' faces were mostly covered by gas masks and other such equipment, Gaara could feel the spark of horror that went through every one of them.

The sand was reaching out of the gourd hungrily, though it began to settle back into its container once the kunai fell to the floor. Gaara stared hard at them. Everything was eerily silent for a moment, like the calm before one of the many sandstorms the desert threw at Sunagakure. Then Gaara's sand lashed out, chasing the targets that had jumped up and were trying to surround him- they had planned ahead. The sand spiralled out from Gaara, hurtling towards the nin and reaching for their ankles whilst the Kazekage simply stood, his eyes hard on the ground a few feet before him.

The sand morphed into four hands that caught hold of two of the nin, gripping them by the ankles and binding them to the desert floor, whilst the hands that had failed to catch the other two only increased in speed as the two shinobi hopped along the top of a rocky facade. He didn't see the hand seals, but he felt the chakra of one of them suddenly mould into yet another unusual jutsu and glanced around just in time to see her release a cloud of some kind of gas. It seemed to come from her face respirator, Gaara noted, before he pulled the sand around himself in a protective shell.

The two others he had rooted to the ground were struggling against the sand, but a mist of sand had begun to form above them. Gaara concentrated on these for now. "Suna Shigure," he muttered, and begun surrounding them with sand. After a few moment they were completely enveloped, still struggling, until Gaara performed his Desert Funeral on them. He ignored the other two advancing enemies as he lifted the sand sphere into the air, trying to get away from the poisonous air behind him and possibly to attract his other would-be assassins.

He reached his hands out and began guiding the sand towards the other two, chasing them with it for a few minutes while they ran about the façade several metres below him. Finally, he caught one, sending a huge wave of sand towards him and crushing him against the jagged rocks, whilst another wave went after the annoyingly fast kunoichi. Eventually, while she was looking over her shoulder at the advancing, grainy hand, Gaara formed another in front of her and crushed her between them before she even knew what hit her.

Everything was silent for a moment while the sand slithered about, falling back into the desert and streaming into the gourd at Gaara's command, rich with chakra an the liquefied remains of the attackers. The redhead lowered himself back to the floor and allowed the hardened sand to disintegrate into its loose form, where it slinked back into his gourd.

Looking around the now sparse battlefield, Gaara sighed. His chakra reserves were still quite high thanks to Shukaku, and so he began to fly back to Suna in his sandy state.

When he arrived, it seemed that his Shinobi had been ambushed by the remaining nin, yet there were only three enemy bodies where Gaara had located them.

Gaara was met with surprise and slight mayhem when he materialised near one of the outlying garrisons.

"K-Kazekage-sama!" Exclaimed a nearby Chuunin.

Kankurou and Temari had sensed his chakra as soon as he came near to the village, and were in front of him within a few minutes.

"Gaara!" Temari yelled. "What the-"

"It's fine, Temari, I took care of them," the redhead replied, "is everyone safe?"

"What-"

"They put a couple of jounin in the hospital, but I think the three back-ups those two that were snooping around the village had were the runts of the litter," Kankurou explained, "the ANBU dealt with them, but we've had the first two put in the high-security wing of the hospital."

"Good. Are they badly injured?" Gaara asked.

Kankurou snorted. "One of the ANBU used a weird genjutsu on them. They'll be out-cold for a couple of hours but they're otherwise healthy enough to be interrogated. They shouldn't die too soon like the other guy did," he said.

Gaara was wordless, and walked past his bored-looking brother and quietly fuming sister to see what his soldiers were doing. It was a shame he hadn't had a chance to use his new jutsu, but he knew there would be a chance for him to use it in the future.

"Temari-san!" Gaara glanced around to see a medi-nin land in front of his siblings and squat. "I think you should come and see this," he said worriedly.

"What is it?" The redhead asked.

"The attackers… they were using a Henge."

Yes, its boring as hell and the cliff-hanger sucked balls. Sorry about the lack of yaoi here, but as I said, I'm laying the foundations for the plot before we even go into that. Trust me, its important =_=; Sorry for any mistakes, C&C is appreciated!


	3. Chapter 2

Title: Chemistry

Rating: PG-15

Genre: Romance, action, drama, occasional angst.

Paring: LeeGaaLee

Chapter: 2/?

Status: In Progress

Warnings: Some violence (the most of which is pretty much over now, but it wasn't particularly graphic anyway), spoilers. Some original characters (just plot devices, don't worry). It's also not beta-read (yet).

Summary: A revelation regarding a situation of political unrest between Suna and an apparent enemy propels the Kazekage into a whole new life. Gaara thinks it will be an insignificant period that will only last him a few months, but isn't aware of just how different things will be once he returns.

Comments: Hopefully things will get a little more interesting this chapter and the plot will make a bit more sense, too. Thanks for the reviews, enjoy~

The two nin who had apparently been using the Henge looked far too similar in their real appearances to not be related. They each had thick black dreadlocks wrapped around wooden D-hoops at the ends, though the woman's hair was far longer than the tall, broad man whom Gaara presumed to be her brother. She herself was taller and fuller-bodied than most women in Suna, and, judging from the bodies of the dead kunoichi, the women of her home country, too. They were tanned, quite heavily pierced and had five small, upside-down triangles in semi circles beneath each of their eyes; a pattern that was tattooed around their bodies. The equipment they had been wearing was currently being removed from the room; face respirators and gas masks, the same as the ones their comrades had been wearing.

"Any clues as to why they were using the Henge?" Temari asked, to no one in particular.

"You got me. They were covered nearly completely by all that equipment they were wearing, why did they want to disguise their identities..?" Kankurou replied, hands shoved in his pockets as he swung on a nearby chair, Karasu propped up against the wall.

"They weren't trying to hide from us. They were traitors," Gaara said, "or something to that extent. Undercover shinobi for an external force."

His brother and sister were silent for a moment. "That's possible, but what kind of external force would send them on a dangerous mission to such a distant country if their identities were so important?" Temari asked.

"One that wants internal information, perhaps," the redhead replied contemplatively, "but we don't know anything at this point. We won't until they're interrogated."

After a minute or so, Kankurou sighed. "As if this shit pile of a situation wasn't complicated enough," he grumbled, standing. "I'll go make the arrangements for the investigation," he added as he swung Karasu behind him and strapped him to his back.

Temari watched her brother leave the quiet of the hospital room, and then glanced at her other one. Gaara looked as though he were plotting to destroy the particular patch of linoleum flooring he was staring at, his brow furrowed and eyes deep with thought.

"Gaara," Temari said softly.

Gaara didn't look up. "It's my fault," he muttered.

"No, its not-"

"Do not lie to me. It is my fault I didn't see any of this. It is my fault Suna is in danger. It is my fault my soldiers are dead."

Temari was silent for a few minutes. "I wouldn't lie to you. It is not your fault. This is all a big misunderstanding that will most likely be sorted out in a few months."

"That's awfully naïve for you. And what of our shinobi? How many more of them will die as a result of a 'misunderstanding'?"

Temari didn't reply. She knew from experience that this slightly hoarser voice was of a different entity than her usual Kazekage. This was the troubled, hurt and far less rational side to her brother that was best left alone until it dissolved away once more, and was replaced by the cool, collected one who had come to rule their village.

"You need to go home," Temari said finally.

Gaara didn't answer. He simply walked over to the window, slid the large pane open and hopped out onto the many buildings of his home.

Gaara returned to the village in the early hours of the afternoon. After he had changed into his robe of office and eaten something, he made his way to the hospital to see how their guests were doing. The guards on either side of the door saluted as he approached, and the Kazekage nodded before opening the double doors to find his brother on the other side. As he glanced over to the beds, he noticed that the girl had woken up, though her brother was still unconscious.

"Hey, bro."

Gaara nodded. "How long has she been awake?" He asked, looking back at his brother.

"Some time this morning."

"Has she said anything?"

"No. She's been like that all day."

The woman was sat cross-legged, eyes closed and with a concentrated expression. She appeared to be meditating, and could've been the only one in the room for all she seemed to take in.

"She better say something soon unless she wants to be tortured." Kankurou said disinterestedly.

She flinched, and Gaara didn't miss it. "She can understand us," he muttered quietly.

"What?"

"Just then. She flinched. She knows our dialect."

Kankurou glanced over at the girl, who still had her eyes closed, though he sensed a slight difference in the movements of her chakra.

"If you don't want to be put under interrogation, I would suggest you start talking," Gaara said, and despite apparently not knowing who she was talking to, she visibly shrunk back at the tone of his voice.

Her eyes opened and she opened her mouth to speak. She appeared to be looking for the right thing to say.

"So, those Interrogation Squad guys really know how to get people to speak. Shame most of their friends don't make it…"

"All right, all right, I'm speaking, okay?" She said finally, exasperated.

Gaara and Kankurou were silent.

After a few minutes, the woman began to speak. "My brother and I are not loyal to the group who attacked you."

"Well, we kind of guessed that one when your Henge cancelled," Kankurou replied. Gaara silenced him with a glare that read 'shut up before she goes silent again'.

"My name is Noriko, and we are the indigenous people of Atom Country- I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. We used to be a non-combative mining village in Gold Country. But then, Gold's government declared us a sub state and invaded." Noriko paused, looking down at her palms, which were scarred with what had probably been deep slashes. "They used our home as a testing ground for nuclear weaponry and before we knew it, we were pushed to the borders and forced to live in ghettos, near the labs, testing ranges and power plants while they lived in the houses we built. To them, we were Untouchables. Sub-human. It wasn't long before we were test subjects, too. Shin and I lost our parents to those bastards."

"That was when I was five. Shin was seven, and we were taken in by our neighbours- they didn't have any children. All that radiation floating around really does stuff to a foetus, you know…" Her brow furrowed and she seemed to be getting angrier and angrier with every word that she said.

"What does this have to do with the attacks?" Gaara asked. Kankurou shifted.

She didn't seem to hear him. "Anyway, after a couple of years, our adoptive parents started going to these meetings. We didn't know what they were at first, but then they began this physical training regime." She looked up to face the two men. "I was fascinated. Such strength… I used to watch my father train in the little courtyard behind our house, and I still remember asking him to teach me… He refused at first, but he gave in after a while, and Shin and I started getting stronger, just like mother and father."

"When I turned eleven, he told me and Shin that we were now a part of history. I didn't get it at first, but that night he woke us up at two in the morning… I remember it so clearly, despite how tired I was… me, Shin, mother and father were walking down a clay staircase to a basement with all these other people. After a few minutes, this man stood up and started talking about the 'plan'."

"They were Anarchists." Gaara said, arms crossed.

Noriko looked at the redhead and nodded. "Yes. We were going to take our home back. We are taking our home back," she declared strongly, not breaking eye contact.

"Well, that explains what you were doing undercover," Kankurou replied, "but not what you were doing attacking our Kazekage."

Noriko's face took on a distasteful look. "The leaders of Gold Country were rich enough to begin with. The gold mines created more than enough wealth but it wasn't enough for them. Nuclear Weaponry is a highly desirable product- and a pricey one. They sought to sell it as a commodity and thus, increase their wealth. It's despicable. They don't care whose hands it falls into, they don't care who they kill. They just want the money in their pockets."

"So they began making deals with governments," Gaara assumed.

"Yes. But according to their intelligence, you didn't pay up."

"That would've been our father," the redhead replied.

Noriko was silent for a moment. "What?"

"I am twenty years old, I have been in office for five years. From our intelligence, this deal was made eleven years ago, when I was nine. My father was Kazekage before me. He's the one who made that deal, and he is now dead," Gaara explained, "and considering that whatever it was he 'ordered', so to speak, was never delivered, we do not have any obligation to pay."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean they're going to just let it go," Noriko replied.

"What?" Kankurou asked, piping up for the first time in a while.

"Those scumbags aren't the type to just write something like this off. They're going to want something for their time."

Kankurou and Gaara were silent. At that moment, Temari walked through the door.

It took a while to explain to her what was going on, and her reaction to the information was the same.

"They expect us to pay for something we never wanted _or_ received?" She exclaimed. "That's-that's bullshit!"

Kankurou blinked at his sister. It wasn't often her heard her swear. "Look, sis, I know its ridiculous, but I'm sure with some negotiation-"

Noriko laughed bitterly. "Don't even bother. You'll be wasting your time - and blood - travelling that distance just to talk to a brick wall."

"I would rather pay in money than in blood," Gaara declared, "what sort of money are we talking here?"

"Well, the identity of the Gold kunoichi I stole didn't have rights to access that department, but I did some snooping anyway. It's a considerable amount, but with how… 'delayed' the payment has been, they're bound to slap a load of interest on top of that. Probably more than this country can afford, unless you borrow it from your allies."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Gaara asked. "It's looking like war is the only option here."

There was a dark silence.

"…Probably. But it might not be the kind of war you're thinking about."

"What kind of war is it, then?" The redhead asked.

Temari could feel something deep moving in her brother, something darker than what had emerged the night before.

Noriko blinked and looked at the floor with an apprehensive sigh before tilting her head back up to face the others. "The Organisation… We need all the support we can get. The testing and sickness caused by the experiments and our lack of resources have almost decimated our population. There are so few of us, we need as many supporters as we can get."

Temari chimed in. "This weaponry… just how advanced is it?"

Noriko looked down at her palms. "I don't believe its on a level where it could deal huge amounts of damage- as far as I'm aware its mostly secret attacks and minor weaponry at this stage. But that's just what I know. Everyone - even the shinobi who work for the government - are so deliberately cut off from it, they could be at any stage of developing a major warhead."

Gaara turned to leave.

"Thank you, Noriko-san," Temari said as she turned to follow him.

"When will my brother wake up?" Noriko asked, just as Kankurou was leaving.

"Not long, he was hit with the same Genjutsu attack as you." He said. "Try and get some rest."

"Gaara, where are you going?" Temari called, trying to keep up with the Kazekage's pace as they hopped over Suna's rooftops.

Gaara didn't answer. He was heading towards his office, seemingly deep in thought with his brother and sister not far behind.

When he arrived, her took out a paper scroll and sat down at his desk, picking up his pen and immediately scribbling symbols over it.

_'Naruto,_

_Once again, Suna finds itself in need of assistance from its allies. A situation has arisen of which we are not able to deal with alone. _

Gaara began to describe the details of what Noriko had explained in his letter.

_Having explained all of this, I suggest that we hold a meeting in Suna at the earliest date possible to discuss the matter further._

_Gaara'_

Temari had arrived at some point during his letter and was raving about how they couldn't possibly go to war after only recently having come out of the last one*, how they couldn't trust the words of a woman who had betrayed the group she had arrived with, and how the situation sucked in general.

"Temari," Gaara said after a few minutes. Kankurou had now arrived too and was doing his best to melt into the wall of his brother's office, seemingly deep in thought.

"What?"

"Calm down. I'm not going to act yet. I'm going to send this letter to Naruto requesting his presence. Do you think you can arrange a meeting of the council, or do you need a tranquilizer?" He asked calmly, though his voice sounded more tightly controlled than usual.

Temari rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Yes," she replied.

"Good." Gaara turned away from her and marched down toward his office door to make his way toward the Aviary.

The meeting of the council was fairly uneventful save for a thick sense of suspicion looming over the large, circular table. A traitor, or someone who knew of one, was seated amongst them, and whoever it was, they were causing a great deal of misery.

Gaara left after a few hours of the councillors going round in circles with their suggestions, theories and strategies, not to mention their ever-so-subtle accusations dipped in diplomacy. It was going nowhere, and Temari had told Gaara to leave and get some rest whilst she dealt with it- evidently she could feel the dark side of the redhead beginning to surface, hungry and eager for carnage.

If it were to truly let loose it would destroy the door, the walls and of course much of the Kazekage's furniture, but the redhead didn't feel as though that would be happening tonight. But just to be safe, he wasn't going to sleep. Instead, he sat at the desk in the corner of his office, with the ornamental marble lamp he'd been gifted at his Inaugural Ceremony lighting up the beige and red room.

Gaara's next few days were spent doing much of the same thing, though frequently interrupted by meetings of the council that were still, for the most part, unfruitful. So Gaara found himself either returning home, doing paperwork or on several occasions, such as today, wondering the desert, hoping for something to surprise him. The darkness within him had been coiling convolute and sickening for the last few days, so much so that he didn't think he could contain it for much longer.

The redhead sat down on a small rock formation that didn't look too jagged and took a swig of his water. He stared at the sandy floor beneath his feet, deep in thought, and then he glanced behind him at the distant chasm his village was protected by. From where he was, he could just see the tips of its tallest buildings, but nothing else. If they couldn't decide on how to deal with this situation with as little blood as possible, the prospect of war was a real threat… but Gaara didn't feel like doing any more clearing up after his father. Plus, it hadn't been long since they'd won the War, so their numbers were much lower. That, and their newest blood, Suna's genin and chuunin, were split between being bent on avenging their lost loved ones and fearful of what combat would do to them.

Gaara ran his slightly bony fingers through his dishevelled red locks, dislodging a little sand the wind had thrown into it. If it was money they wanted, he was more than willing to pay to save the lives of his soldiers. But at the same time, he couldn't allow the two nin who had come as a part of the assassination squad to go home without any support for their agenda- if what Noriko had told them was really the truth. However, that would inevitably create war between Suna and Gold, which was just what Gaara was trying to avoid. The world had seen enough carnage, at least for a few years, and the fact that Gold was manufacturing nuclear weaponry added to the mix of things to be worried about.

Gaara sighed and rested his head in his hands, leaning forward on his knees. Though he was used to the heat of the desert, Gaara could feel it was hotter than usual today. So when he saw an oddly-shaped, distant green blur out of the corner of his eyes, he assumed it was due to the heat and ignored it. When it got bigger, he looked up and blinked at it slowly. When it appeared to be screaming, Gaara's eyes widened. Within a few seconds one Rock Lee was passing him, flinging a wave of displaced sand in the Kazekage's direction. But Gaara's green eyes stared hard at the glittering particles just centimetres in front of his face.

Lee skidded to a halt a few feet away and landed flat on his backside. But he got up quickly enough and stood next to the redhead, panting only lightly and saluting.

"Rock Lee, reporting for duty!" He hollered. "It is an honour to be a part of our villages' youthful alliance once again!"

Gaara blinked at him.

Lee slowly took his hand down from his head and smiled brightly. "Hello, Ga- I mean, Kazekage-sama. Long time no see. How have you been?" He asked, slightly more calmly this time.

"How fast did you run coming here?" Gaara asked after a moment.

Lee laughed. "You haven't changed!"

"Answer my question."

Lee blinked, but he still felt like grinning. "Well I didn't pay much attention to my actual speed, but Naruto and the others are probably not far behind."

As it turned out, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were, in fact, about a day behind him, which meant they would probably not arrive until the early hours of the following morning- and that was if they didn't stop to sleep.

Lee shifted a bit awkwardly as Gaara showed him to his spare bedroom. "Sorry…" He said, unhooking the radio from his neck. "I really didn't think I was going that fast…"

"It's fine." There were something of an awkward silence that followed (not that Gaara would've noticed), but then the redhead simply turned to walk down the short hallway, dumped his heavy gourd on the floor beside the wall and took off his long black coat, hooking it over a nearby chair.

The Konoha nin watched him silently as he stepped into the quite obviously disused second bedroom, taking in the Kazekage's form. It had been about two years since Lee had last seen the other man, but he'd certainly changed physically. It seemed that Gaara had reached his final growth spurt, though he was still considerably small.

Lee, on the other hand, had really grown since the War. He was now around four or five inches taller than Gaara, his facial hair had really taken off (though he tried to keep it as clean and shaven as possible), and his eyes were not as large as they once had been. But of course, they were still round and deep pools of black, and his hair was still in his trademark bowl cut.

After he had placed his things on the bed that was obviously going to be his for the night, he followed Gaara's footsteps to what was a modest, round kitchen with walls made of sturdy bedrock, a small, circular table, long, thin windows with wooden shutters and all the basic appliances. Gaara was standing at a sink and filling a kettle with water, which he carried over to hob before he turned to face the other man, leaning against the counter and folding his arms.

Lee suddenly felt a bit awkward, but he didn't break his gaze. He had, of course, noticed how Gaara had grown since he'd last seen him, but now the other man's coat was off he could really see just how much. Gaara was much broader around the arms and chest, though it might've been because he was standing with his arms folded. His hair, still messy, still deep vermillion, brushed his shoulders and spiked madly at top, just like Naruto's, and his eyes were still as green and piercing with their accompanying black rings.

Lee adverted his eyes, looking at a random sandstone floor tile. "So uh, how are things?" He asked, tucking his hands into his back pockets and trying to look anywhere but Gaara's face.

Gaara furrowed his brow, puzzled. "Did Naruto not tell you? 'Things' are bad. We might be going to war."

Lee winced inwardly. He should've expected that. But war? That would be terrible! And here he was, nearly drooling over the Kazekage! "Oh. Yeah. Yes. Right," he replied.

Things were silent for the most awkward few seconds of Lee's life, but then the kettle began steaming on the hob, and Gaara reached over to turn it off.

They sat down at Gaara's table and Lee hummed in contentment as he sipped at the warm cup of tea. Nearly an entire day running at high speed without any refreshment really dehydrated the body.

"How are the talks going with the council?" Lee asked, feeling a bit more relaxed.

Gaara gave a slight scowl. "Unproductive. The conceited fools just keep going round in circles with their accusations and ridiculous plans."

Lee was silent for a moment. "That bad?"

Gaara nodded. "How is everyone in Konoha?" He asked, not out of manners, but out of genuine intrigue.

Lee glanced at him and grinned. "Fine, thank you for asking! Everyone is now truly in the Springtime of their Youth."

"Okay," the redhead answered. "Is Naruto a good Hokage?"

"Yes, he is. He's very kind and tries to take care of everyone."

"But still a loudmouth, right?"

"What Konoha citizen isn't?" Lee beamed, grinning widely.

The corner of Gaara's mouth twitched slightly, but it didn't quite make it into a smirk. He had missed this. The war had been harrowing and had seemed to drag on for longer than it lasted, but the moments of camaraderie had kept them going; had kept Gaara going. They reminded all of them what they were fighting for, what they were risking their lives for.

Lee yawned widely, covering his mouth and excusing himself.

"You should get some sleep," Gaara said, "we have a long day ahead of us."

Even with the presence of an ally, the board meetings were still unproductive. Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura had arrived early in the morning and had already had a meeting with Temari, Kankurou and some of Suna's Interrogation Squad, but Gaara and Lee were making their way to the conference room, where they were waiting outside in the hallway.

Sakura immediately clocked Lee over the head.

It probably would've fractured a normal man's skull, but, as if to prove her point, Lee's skull was just too hard. "Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"What did I say about running ahead on important missions like this?" The pink-haired woman screeched. "What if Naruto had been attacked too?"

Naruto laughed whilst Kakashi ignored them, re-reading a copy of one of Jiraiya-sensei's books.

"Gaara-kun! How are ya dude?" Naruto grinned, turning to face the redhead. He did look strange in the official robe of office. Hopefully the idiot didn't wear it on his way to Suna.

"Fine," Gaara said, "we have much to talk about. We'll speak more later." With that, he walked past the group and into the Conference Room, sitting down with the few councillors who had arrived before them.

The meeting lasted around three hours, in which time they had decided that they would first find out if what Noriko had said about them being unlikely to let it go unpaid was true, and explain their situation to them via messenger bird. But they still hadn't come to one regarding whether or not they were going to fight them if that was what it would come to.

Gaara dumped his gourd on the floor with much more anger than he usually would. The sand inside gave a minor swirl, reacting to his anger and keen to play. Three hours to decide on practically nothing. Sitting down on the sofa, Gaara ran his fingers through his hair and sighed to himself. Then he blinked tiredly and yawned.

Slightly puzzled, the Kazekage lifted his head back up and thought back to when he last slept. It actually hadn't been that long ago. How strange… it wasn't often his body gave out so quickly, not someone who had been an insomniac since childhood. So Gaara ignored it, instead standing and walking over to the maroon curtain that separated his living room and office to do some work.

About an hour later, Gaara suddenly became incredibly drowsy. He dropped his pen, holding his suddenly very heavy head in one hand. He groaned quietly, and then slumped down on the desk, his head resting on the many papers littered about the surface.

…Was this better? I'm really not sure. Please tell me what you think! C&C is much appreciated.

*If you're up to date with the manga, you'll know what I'm talking about.


End file.
